UPGG is strongly committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biological sciences. We expect every member of our community to contribute to promoting a supportive, safe, and welcoming environment for students, faculty, and administrative staff in our program, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, or nationality. We believe a diverse community of scientists will enrich our perspectives in genetics and genomics and improve our research mission.
Promoting Diversity in Student Recruiting: UPGG administration, the admissions committee, the DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Antiracism) committee, and UPGG students will participate in multiple recruiting events each year to actively seek out talented, historically excluded students. To aid in these recruiting efforts, the Duke University Graduate School annually awards approximately 35 honorary Dean's Graduate Fellowships to the strongest underrepresented minority students in the applicant pool. For students in the UPGG program, the fellowships are supplemental in nature, providing enhanced stipend support, tuition, and fees. In 2020, UPGG also removed the GRE as an admission requirement, in an effort to attract a more diverse applicant pool.
Promoting an Inclusive Environment: UPGG has an active DEIA committee made up of current students and faculty. This committee regularly communicates with the UPGG community about resources and events regarding DEIA efforts on campus. The DEIA committee works with UPGG leadership to ensure that DEIA issues are a high priority for the program. UPGG is committed to representing the important scientific contributions that diverse scientists have made to the fields of genetics and genomics, and will promote such efforts to highlight these contributions both in UPGG core courses and by inviting a wide range of scientists from diverse and historically excluded backgrounds to participate in the UPGG seminar series. To introduce our students to diverse speakers early on in their curriculum, UPGG required courses integrate papers from a wide range of diverse and historically excluded research scientists. UPGG endorses inclusivity and anti-racism training for all students and faculty so that we may become more self-aware of implicit and explicit bias and learn how best to implement an inclusive environment. Important resources for students to note are the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advancement, and Leadership (IDEALS), Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), and the Duke BioCoRE Scholars program. Inclusivity and anti-racism resources for faculty are available through the Office of Faculty Advancement.
For Individuals with Disabilities: The Duke Genetics & Genomics Program and the Graduate School are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities in compliance with Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, as well as applicable state regulations and federal and state privacy laws. We encourage applications from and offer support for the Duke community representing all sectors of society, including those whose life experiences may include the challenge of access due to a disability.
If you believe you may need accommodations, please visit Duke's Disability Management System (DMS) for detailed information and procedures. The knowledgeable staff at DMS serve Duke's undergraduate, graduate and professional students, trainees, employees, and faculty, as well as the public, in support of Duke University and Duke University Health System efforts to ensure an accessible, hospitable working and learning environment for people with disabilities. Through DMS, Duke ensures consistent processes for requesting accommodations, evaluating needs, and determining appropriate response. DMS serves as a resource for disability-related information, procedures, and services available at Duke, in Durham, and in North Carolina.
“The University Program in Genetics & Genomics acknowledges that the land Duke University occupies are the ancestral lands of the Shakori, Eno and Catawba people.
Today, North Carolina recognizes 8 tribes: Coharie, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Saponi, Haliwa Saponi, Waccamaw Siouan, Sappony, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee. We recognize those peoples for whom these were ancestral lands as well as the many Indigenous people who live and work in the region today.”